Accounting Policies and Basis of Presentation (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation	Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation. The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates. The financial reporting policies of the Company conform to GAAP. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The application of certain of these policies places significant demands on management’s judgment, with financial reporting results relying on estimation about the effects of matters that are inherently uncertain. For all of these policies, management cautions that future events rarely develop as forecast, and estimates routinely require adjustment and may require material adjustment.
Inventory	Inventory. Inventory includes finished goods, raw materials in the form of agricultural commodities used in the production process and certain maintenance and repair items. Bourbon and whiskeys are normally aged in barrels for several years, following industry practice; all barreled bourbon and whiskey is classified as a current asset. The Company includes warehousing, insurance, and other carrying charges applicable to barreled whiskey in inventory costs. Inventories are stated at lower of cost or net realizable value on the first-in, first-out, or FIFO, method. Inventory valuations are impacted by constantly changing prices paid for key materials, primarily corn.
Equity Method Investments	Equity Method Investments. The Company accounts for its investment in non-consolidated subsidiaries under the equity method of accounting when the Company has significant influence, but does not have more than 50 percent voting control, and is not considered the primary beneficiary. Under the equity method of accounting, the Company reflects its investment in non-consolidated subsidiaries within the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as Equity method investments; the Company’s share of the earnings or losses of the non-consolidated subsidiaries is reflected as Equity method investment earnings in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. The Company reviews its investments in non-consolidated subsidiaries for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the investments may not be fully recoverable. Evidence of a loss in value that is other than temporary include, but are not limited to, the absence of an ability to recover the carrying amount of the investment, the inability of the investee to sustain an earnings capacity which would justify the carrying amount of the investment, or, where applicable, estimated sales proceeds which are insufficient to recover the carrying amount of the investment. If the fair value of the investment is determined to be less than the carrying value and the decline in value is considered to be other than temporary, an appropriate write-down is recorded based on the excess of the carrying value over the best estimate of fair value of the investment.
Revenue Recognition	Revenue Recognition. Except as discussed below, revenue from the sale of the Company’s products is recognized as products are delivered to customers according to shipping terms and when title and risk of loss have transferred. Income from various government incentive grant programs is recognized as it is earned. The Company’s Distillery segment routinely produces unaged distillate, and this product is frequently barreled and warehoused at a Company location for an extended period of time in accordance with directions received from the Company’s customers. This product must meet customer acceptance specifications, the risks of ownership and title to the goods must be passed to the customer, and requirements for bill and hold revenue recognition must be met prior to the Company recognizing revenue from the sale of the product. Separate warehousing agreements are maintained for customers who store their product with the Company and warehouse services revenues are recognized as the services are provided.
Income Taxes	Income Taxes. The Company accounts for income taxes using an asset and liability method which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. Evaluating the need for, and amount of a valuation allowance for deferred tax assets often requires significant judgment and extensive analysis of all available evidence on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis. Such judgments require the Company to interpret existing tax law and other published guidance as applied to the Company's circumstances. As part of this assessment, the Company considers both positive and negative evidence about its profitability and tax situation. A valuation allowance is recognized if it is more likely than not that at least some portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. Accounting for uncertainty in income tax positions requires management judgment and the use of estimates in determining whether the impact of a tax position is "more likely than not" of being sustained. The Company considers many factors when evaluating and estimating its tax positions, which may require periodic adjustment and which may not accurately anticipate actual outcomes. It is possible that amounts reserved for potential exposure could change as a result of the conclusion of tax examinations and, accordingly, materially affect the Company’s reported net income after tax.
Earnings per Share	Earnings per Share. Basic and diluted earnings per share are computed using the two-class method, which is an earnings allocation formula that determines net income per share for each class of Common Stock and participating security according to dividends declared and participation rights in undistributed earnings. Per share amounts are computed by dividing net income attributable to common shareholders by the weighted average shares outstanding during the period.
Long-lived Assets and Loss on Impairment of Assets	Long-Lived Assets and Loss on Impairment of Assets. Management reviews long-lived assets, mainly property and equipment assets, whenever events or circumstances indicate that usage may be limited and carrying values may not be fully recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the asset to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are determined to be impaired, the impairment is measured by the amount by which the asset carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value of the assets. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell. Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques including discounted cash flow models, quoted market values and third-party independent appraisals, as considered necessary.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	Fair Value of Financial Instruments. The Company determines the fair values of its financial instruments based on a fair value hierarchy, which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. The hierarchy is broken down into three levels based upon the observability of inputs. Fair values determined by Level 1 inputs utilize quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access. Level 2 inputs include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets and inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability. Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, and include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability. In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement in its entirety falls has been determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to the asset or liability. The Company’s short term financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable. The carrying value of the short term financial instruments approximates the fair value due to their short term nature. These financial instruments have no stated maturities or the financial instruments have short term maturities that approximate market.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements. In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-07, Compensation-Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost, which requires companies to present the service cost component of net benefit cost in the same line items in which they report compensation cost. Companies will present all other components of net benefit cost outside operating income, if this subtotal is presented. This ASU is effective for public business entities for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of an annual period for which financial statements (interim or annual) have not been issued or made available for issuance. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU 2017-07 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-05, Other Income-Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets, which clarifies the guidance in Subtopic 610-20 on accounting for derecognition of a nonfinancial asset. The ASU also defines in-substance nonfinancial assets and includes guidance on partial sales of nonfinancial assets. An entity is required to apply the amendments in this ASU at the same time that it applies ASU 2014-09 (see below). The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU 2017-05 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which requires an entity to no longer perform a hypothetical purchase price allocation to measure goodwill impairment. Instead, impairment will be measured using the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the reporting unit. The changes are effective for public business entities that are SEC filers, for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. All entities may early adopt the standard for goodwill impairment tests with measurement dates after January 1, 2017. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU 2017-04 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-03, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections (Topic 250) and Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323): Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to Staff Announcements at the September 22, 2016 and November 17, 2016 EITF Meetings (SEC Update), which incorporates into the FASB Accounting Standards Codification^® recent SEC guidance about disclosing, under SEC SAB Topic 11.M, the effect on financial statements of adopting the revenue, leases, and credit losses standards. The SEC staff had previously announced that registrants should include the disclosures starting with their December 2017 financial statements. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU 2017-03 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business, which provides a new framework for determining whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. This ASU is effective for public business entities for annual and interim periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. Entities may early adopt the ASU and apply it to transactions that have not been reported in financial statements that have been issued or made available for issuance. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU 2017-01 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, which aims to make leasing activities more transparent and comparable and requires substantially all leases be recognized by lessees on their balance sheet as a right-of-use asset and corresponding lease liability, including leases currently accounted for as operating leases. This ASU is effective for all interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of ASU 2016-02 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. At March 31, 2017 the Company had various machinery and equipment operating leases, as well as operating leases for 218 rail cars and one office space. In January 2016 the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10), which enhances the reporting model for financial instruments to provide users of financial statements with more decision-useful information. The amendments in this update address certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial instruments. The ASU is effective for public business entities for annual periods, including interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted following the early application guidance set forth in the pronouncement. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU 2016-01 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In July 2015 the FASB issued ASU 2015-11, Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory (Topic 330), which is part of the FASB's simplification initiative to identify, evaluate, and improve areas of generally accepted accounting principles. The amendments in the update do not apply to inventory that is measured using last-in, first-out (LIFO) or the retail inventory method. The amendments apply to all other inventory, which includes inventory that is measured using first-in, first-out (FIFO) or average cost. An entity should measure inventory within the scope of this update at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. The ASU is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted this new guidance in the quarter ended March 31, 2017, and there was no impact on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which will replace numerous requirements in GAAP, including industry specific requirements, and provide companies with a single revenue recognition model for recognizing revenue from contracts with customers. The core principle of the new standard is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The two permitted transition methods under the new standard are the full retrospective method, in which case the standard would be applied to each prior reporting period presented and the cumulative effect of applying the standard would be recognized at the earliest period shown, or the modified retrospective method, in which case the cumulative effect of applying the standard would be recognized at the date of initial application. In July 2015, the FASB approved the deferral of the new standard's effective date by one year. The new standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The FASB will permit companies to adopt the new standard early, but not before the original effective date of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, but the Company is not planning to early adopt the new standard. In 2016, the Company established an implementation team consisting of internal and external representatives. The implementation team is in the process of assessing the impact the new standard will have on the consolidated financial statements and assessing the impact on individual contracts in the Company's revenue streams. In addition, the implementation team is in the process of identifying, and will then implement, appropriate changes to business processes, systems and controls to support recognition and disclosure under the new standard. The implementation team will report findings and progress of the project to management and the Audit Committee on a frequent basis through the effective date. The Company will adopt the requirements of the new standard in the first quarter of 2018 and anticipates using the modified retrospective transition method. The Company has not yet determined the quantitative impact on its consolidated financial statements.